Yes, it was a decidedly grim and tight-lipped Harbaugh during an excruciating eight-minute news conference, which came on the heels of his worst loss as a head coach since Stanford’s 41-3 defeat to Arizona State on Sept. 29, 2007.

Five years later, Sunday’s beat-down against a team led by Harbaugh’s longtime rival, Seattle coach Pete Carroll, also took a physical toll.

On the injury front, Harbaugh acknowledged wide receiver Mario Manningham (knee) will have an MRI exam after sustaining what appeared to be a serious injury on Sunday. Manningham’s left knee bent at an awkward angle after he caught a short pass from Colin Kaepernick in the third quarter and subsequently fumbled as he was hit low by Seattle linebacker Leroy Hill.

Harbaugh offered no details on other injured players, a list that includes tight end Vernon Davis (concussion), defensive tackle Will Tukuafu (back) and Smith. Harbaugh was optimistic about Smith’s availability early last week, but spoke vaguely about his status Monday.

He did address a Yahoo Sports report in the aftermath of Sunday’s loss in which Seahawks safety Earl Thomas and cornerback Richard Sherman said Harbaugh “mockingly saluted” the Seahawks team bus by honking his horn after San Francisco’s 13-6 win at Candlestick Park on Oct. 18.

Thomas said payback was sweet on Harbaugh’s 49th birthday.

“Happy birthday – that’s what you get,” Thomas said. “Yeah, he (honked at us). It seems like he tries to be a professional in front of the camera, but he does his antics, like that, when the cameras aren’t around. He’s just a big kid. We don’t worry about that stuff. We just play the game. The best team won (Sunday), and it was convincing.”

Said Harbaugh: “No. No, that did not occur. That’s a fabrication … I can’t remember a time where I left the game and the other team has still been there this entire season.”

If there was a theme to Harbaugh’s brief session it was that his team has to “reorganize, refit and regroup,” a phrase he trotted out on four occasions.

The good for 49ers fans is that Harbaugh apparently has a knack for getting his teams re-channeled after defeats. The Niners are 7-0 after losses or a tie since 2011, winning those bounce-back games by a combined score of 165-37.

And then there is the matter of that 38-point loss to Arizona State in Harbaugh’s fourth game at Stanford in 2007.

The next week, the 1-3 Cardinal traveled to Los Angeles as 41-point underdogs and stunned second-ranked USC and Carroll, 24-23.

Briefly: The 49ers released linebacker Alex Hoffman-Ellis from the practice squad. They have two open spots on the practice squad after rookie linebacker Cam Johnson was promoted to the 53-man roster last week. … David Akers’ 54-yard field goal Sunday was the second-longest in the history of CenturyLink Field, which opened in 20o2. … Sherman’s 90-yard return of Akers’ blocked 21-yard field-goal attempt was the third-longest in NFL history.